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Escade · 01-14-2017, 05:55 PM

TSP Resident Spotlight: Qvait

Interview Date: January 10, 2017

Interviewee: Qvait
Interviewer: Escade
Interview Venue: The TSP Forums

Qvait is a long time resident of The South Pacific and an active role player who has created an intricate world for his nation and its inhabitants. In addition, Qvait has many cool interests outside of NationStates including WWE wrestling, editing Wikipedia articles, and writing science fiction! Furthermore, if you ever wondered about Filipino food, Qvait can tell you what delights you must try!

1. How did you learn about NationStates? How long have you been playing NS?
I learned about NationStates when I did a search on Google. I was curious about "country simulations" and games of the sort. So, that's how I stumbled upon NationStates. I marked the exact date when I started playing and that was March 8, 2012, so it's been nearly five years since I've been playing NS. In 2012, I was deeply interested in this game, but it's become more casual as time goes by.

2. How long have you been in the South Pacific? Why did you decide to stay?
I've been in the South Pacific since February 2014. To understand why I decided to stay, you need to know that I was a member of the European Union from November 2012 to January 2014. I grew increasingly interested in roleplay and I got some of that in the EU. The problem was: there weren't many people in the EU who were consistently involved in RP, so I decided to leave. I spent awhile in Canada, until I joined TSP. So, the reason why I stayed was because people here in TSP were consistently involved in RP.

3. What do you like most about being a resident of TSP?
Similar to my answer in the last question, it's RP. I love storytelling and RP provides that.

4. If you were delegate of TSP for a day what would you do?
Well, I would say that, "Hey, you guys know there's a forum, right?" I know that TSP is one of the feeder regions, but considering how many people stick around in this region, I would expect the forum to be really active around the clock.

5. Cake or pie? Why?
Pie. I'm not a fan of cake. It's…I can't really find words to explain why I don't like cake. However, I like pie. Pumpkin pie. Cherry pie. Apple pie. If I could only pick one, it's apple pie. I love it.

6. Favorite book, movie, or song?
I'll answer all three. I don't read many books, mainly because it seems that there aren't many books in the genre that interests me the most. I'm interested in books such as Unbroken and American Sniper. Aside from the fact that they're both war stories, which I find to be riveting, they capture the personal perspectives of Louis Zamperini and Chris Kyle, a pair of heroes from the Second World War and Iraq War, respectively, and their fight for survival. These guys persevered against the greatest odds, especially Zamperini. These are the only two books in my life that I actually cared to read. If you haven't heard their stories, I encourage you to find out.

As for movies, I like James Bond, Fast and Furious, and Rocky, but I don't really have that one favorite movie. I put it all by genre. Jurassic World was a really good movie. You know, I'm a young guy who's seen more movies from the 21st century rather than the last. So, I'm gonna like more recent movies. We just had a new Star Wars movie and that was a great movie. I attribute all these late great actors to the new movies have come out or are coming soon. Paul Walker in Fast and Furious, Carrie Fisher in Star Wars, and Robin Williams in Jumanji. Even though they have passed away, they're still there. There's a sense of nostalgia with these movies. There are new movies coming for all three in this year, 2017. This year is going to be a great year for new favorites, so stay tuned.

I like lots of music, but I mainly listen to alternative rock. I grew up listening to soft rock, pop, and some country, so I'm more inclined to listen to that music. I spent a year learning psychology in high school, so I learned that what interests you is what you grow up around. I grew up listening to this music. Now, when it comes to singers and bands, I like OneRepublic, Imagine Dragons, Kelly Clarkson, Adele, and Ellie Goulding. By the way, I want give a mention to the late Whitney Houston, because she was an incredible singer. I want to give three good songs: "Secrets" by OneRepublic, "Hello" by Adele, and "I Never Told You" by Colbie Caillat. Some may say that I just listed three depressing songs. Well, I don't look at it that way. It's more about the tune and the sound of it, and much less the lyrics.

7. What is the significance or story behind your nation's name?
When I was thinking of a name, I was just thinking of something random, which was Qvait, pronounced cue-vait. Some thought that I was playing on to Kuwait, but that was not the reason why I named it so. Perhaps, it was subliminal, but it was not intended. As time went by, the name has still stuck with me. It's just like, yeah.

8. What is the role play aspect you like most about your nation or TSP experience?
When it comes to RP in TSP, I like it because people are active in it. They are engaging. As I said earlier, this is why I stayed. Every now and then, it does kinda get out of hand, but it's an overall great experience.

9. For someone who isn't as involved in role play, what kinds of role play do you like the most? What does it take to be a good role player?
A few years back, the RP world of TSP had a war going on and it was pretty fun, with the exception of godmodding. However, last year Seraph/Erinor started a medieval times thread called, "TSP 1116," and it was just the right time, because I started taking an interest in Game of Thrones last year. As I look at the thread, the last post came in October, but I would love to go back there and revive the story that's being told in that thread.

To be a good role player, you have to have a great imagination. Be a storyteller. If you have that, you are going to have a good time and people around you are going to as well.

10. What do you do when you're not on Nation States?
I like watching videos on YouTube and editing Wikipedia. Pretty random, right? I'm sure a lot of people watch vids on YouTube, so there's not much there, but I do enjoy editing at Wikipedia. It's a hobby of mine. You may ask, "Well, what articles to you like to edit on Wikipedia?" I mainly edit articles that are of interest to me, from small things to big things.

During the summer, I like to go swimming and go to the beach. You know, sometimes I take for granted the fact that I live a half-hour drive away from the beach. There are people who live hundreds, if not, thousands of miles away from an ocean, and I can't imagine how that feels. I hear from people who don't live in California and they say that our water in Pacific is really cold. Apparently, the Pacific in California is colder than the Atlantic. Well, I'm used to it. Speaking of California, we're used to earthquakes, but I never really thought what a person would think if that person was experiencing one for the first time. So, if you've never been to California and you've never experienced an earthquake, buckle up, because you're in for a ride! Don't worry, though, because most earthquakes are small. However, I should let you know that California is long overdue for "The Big One," as we call it.

I love video games. I love Battlefield. I love Grand Theft Auto. I love games which involve shooting things. When it comes to sports, I like playing NBA 2K and Madden (the latter is an American thing). Recently, I have come to appreciate FIFA. I mean, this sport is the most popular sport in the world, but not in the United States. However, in recent years, this sport and MLS have been making gains, especially with what our national team did at the 2014 FIFA World Cup. It was then when I learned who Tim Howard was. If Donald Trump is gonna build a wall, Tim Howard is the guy he needs to talk to.

I'm a sports fan and there was something really special going on in baseball in 2016. You see, I'm a third-generation fan of the Chicago Cubs and this team had never won the World Series since 1908. 108 years! November 3, 2016. I will never forget that date, because, in Game 7 of the World Series, after being down 3–1 earlier in the series, the most glorious moment in the history of sports just happened. (People in Leicester are probably triggered right now.) The impossible happened. The Cubs won the World Series. It was a glorious day for me and my mother. To see a team that her father, my grandfather, spent his entire life watching, hoping that they would win the World Series, finally win it all? There are no words to describe that, except that he's finally resting in peace.

I'm a fan of professional wrestling, especially certain wrestlers such as A.J. Styles, Bayley, Kenny Omega, and Sasha Banks, just to name a few. You can do some Wikipedia searches on them. It's so entertaining, but, of course, there are those who say, "Wrestling is fake." Well, here's my rebuttal: professional wrestling is very much real because it only takes one mistake to get seriously injured, just like in any other sport. I don't care if they're face (good guy) or heel (bad guy), I just look at their talent in the ring, which is phenomenal. This guy, Edge, used to wrestle, and he is my favorite. Chris Jericho is one of my favorites, but he was a better wrestler when he was younger.

I like boxing and MMA and I'm a huge fan of Manny Pacquiao. It comes as a form of ethnic pride. You see, I'm half-Filipino and there aren't many great Filipino athletes, except for one Manny Pacquiao. I knew who he was before I even watched him in the ring. My father's a big fan. I'm a big fan. My father and his family came to America when the country was under Ferdinand Marcos and martial law. There's still a lot of problems back in the Philippines: corruption, drugs, poverty, Islamic and/or communist terrorism. Manny Pacquiao is the one thing that the Philippines and all Filipinos around the world can rally behind. Somewhere, someone said that "everything in the Philippines, even crime, comes to a stop when Manny is fighting." This guy is a sensation, a hero to all Filipinos. On another note, I still think he beat Mayweather. (I'm triggering a lot of people today.)

Other than sports, I love writing. It's probably why I like RP. I want to tell a story. I mean, it doesn't make sense. Earlier in your questioning, I said that I didn't like to read much. However, opposite is true when it comes to writing. It's like I don't want to read someone else's story. I want it to be my own. In 2012, I thought about writing a book, so I started writing a story based on a fictional 2020 war between the United States and China. You know, authors are influenced by the attitudes of the time. George Orwell and Ray Bradbury grew up, one experiencing two world wars and the other experiencing one. They both saw the rise of Nazism, and their books, 1984 and Fahrenheit 451, were influenced by those attitudes. Back to my book, I did not expect the rise of Donald Trump and his staunchly anti-China rhetoric. So, there's that. Oh! You need to know that I predicted that Russia and America were grudgingly on the same side. It was 2012 when I was writing this. I didn't even think this was even remotely possible!

11. I think it’s really inspiring that you wrote or are still writing a book! You stated that, "In 2012, I thought about writing a book, so I started writing a story based on a fictional 2020 war between the United States and China." Is this a story or novel you hope to publish and are you still working on it? Is it a dystopia like Orwell or Bradbury's books? What do you predict the relationship between China and the U.S. will be in the upcoming years?
I would love to publish this book one day and I'm still working on it. I would say that it could be a dystopia in the sense that the US and China are in a state of war and I would assume every sane person wouldn't want war. I'll let you know that in my book, the war starts on American soil. This hypothetical war would be the first time since the War of 1812 that a foreign country invaded the United States. As to real life, I'm hopeful that the story in my book doesn't come true. War is terrible. I would love to be optimistic, but tensions have been rising in recent years, especially with the recent election of a guy who is very provocative towards China. It's hard to predict what's gonna happen when we have a wild card in the White House.

If Donald Trump is the guy we saw on the campaign trail, I fear that there could very well be an exponential rise in tension between the US and China, which could lead to a trade war, and possibly a war that goes beyond trade. What happened in Pearl Harbor happened after we froze Japanese assets especially with the imposition of an oil embargo. Drawing comparisons, this is a very scary scenario. It is my hope that Donald Trump is not the same guy we saw during the election, but as of this writing, we are only ten days away from his inauguration, and he has shown little change. I'm wishing and hoping for the best. Let's just hope we can have peace for the next four years and for every year after that. We already had two World Wars, we don't need another one. Why can't we all just give free hugs and be friends?

12. Do you have a favorite person in TSP? A least favorite?
There was a guy, ProfessorHenn. In RP, we would know him (or her) as Sporaltryus. Great guy to do RP with. As for least favorite, yeaaaaaah, I'm not gonna talk crap about anyone in TSP.

13. If you could change one thing about TSP - what would you change and why?
It would be participation in the forums. I would like more people to be on the forums. It's a fun place to interact and take part in spam games, RP, RL political discussions, and lots of other things. I wish more people were involved.

14. I understand your frustrations with forum activity because its been a consistent issue across NationStates. Do you think that if regions had forums that were on NS itself and regulated would that possibly encourage people (instead of having to sign up on a different site)?
Maybe. It's worth trying. Perhaps NS could revamp its forum to allow regional forums. That way, people have quicker access. It could work; all we have to do is try.

15. Then, have you gone onto Discord? It's like a mixture between IRC and Skype and protects users privacy. What possibilities are there for the kinds of spam games, political discussions and role play you are interested in on a platform like Discord?
I have, but I often forget that it exists, and that's a big "my bad" on my part.

I'm sure I could find these things over there in the chat, but I gotta show up more often.

16. Finally, what is one thing that I didn't ask you about that you'd like to discuss or share?
To everyone who has never had Filipino food: try it. Get some lumpia, pancit, pandesal, and other kinds of food. It's so delicious. Oh, do not forget sweet and sour. Dip your lumpia in it, pour it on your pancit, and you're G2G.

Escade and the Ministry of Regional Affairs would like to thank Qvait for sharing his fascinating interests and pursuits and we share his goal to increase forum participation in role plays!

Escade

~ Positions Held in TSP ~
Delegate | Vice Delegate
Minister of Regional Affairs, | Minister of Foreign Affairs | Minister of Military Affairs
~ The Sparkly One ~

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(This post was last modified: 01-14-2017, 06:03 PM by Escade.)

**Jay Coop** · 01-14-2017, 09:00 PM

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(This post was last modified: 01-14-2017, 09:01 PM by Jay Coop.)

RandomGuy199 · 01-14-2017, 11:37 PM

Glad to know I'm not the only pro-wrestling fan in here Happywide

RandomGuy199
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Resident Venezuelan/Lampshade Bar & Grill Manager- The South Pacific
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"You're talkin' to the Rolex wearin', diamond ring wearin', kiss stealin', wheelin' n' dealin', limousine ridin', jet flyin', son of a gun, and I'm having a hard time keeping these alligators down!"

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